Samuel a



Oct. 16, 1928. LGSSZS s. A. MEGEATH REFRIGERATOR BASKET Filed June l5,1927 ATTORNEY Patented @et lo, i928.

SAMUEL A. LVIEGEATH, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

nnrnrefnae'ren easunr.

Application filed .Tune 15, 1927. Serial No. 199,049.

The object of this invention is7 to supply a more convenient, efficientand sanitary refrigeratorv basket than those heretofore obtainable.

Nearly all baskets of this type are supplied Y with one or morecompartments for ice,l and one or more compartments for food, game, orfish, and so far as I am aware, none of them are yprovided withconvenient means whereby the water produced by the meltingof the ice maybe drained or otherwise emptied from the ice chambers.

' Heretofore, it has been necessary to open the basket and pour thiswater out. and very often, in so doing, it has also been necessary toremove the contents of the food compartment; this is not only veryinconvenient. but many times. owing to the conditions under which suchbaskets musJr he used, it is .also unsanitary, neutralizes therefrigeration and is wasteful ofziee.. Furthermore, it is particularlynecessary to the proper preservation of the meat, graine. fish or otherfood which forms the contents of the food chamber, th at they be i ke tas dr as ossible. hence the ice com art.-

ment should be kept sufciently free from water that it will not belikely to splash into the food chamber or forma humid atmospherel withinthe basket.

ln order to provide a refrigerator basket which shall be as free aspossible from objectionable features mentioned and to attain thedesirable: features set forth ll. have devised the basket shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig'. l is a plan view of the open basket with the foodreceptacleremoved therefrom-handles shown.

Fig. 2 isa plan view of a basket having a sli ehtly modified form ofbottom. and -wit the food chamber in position with its coverremoved-handles not shown.

3 is a central. vertical. longitudinal section of my complete basket.the cover tothe basket, and the: cover to the food container both beingshown in position but not in section. v

Fie'. 4 is fragment of the bottom portion l i n of the basket. having`the itorm of botto-in shown i El the in opening and we closure er bein?.lawn .in seetiona Fie'. 5 is a half-plan view of the seat member of adrain-valve which may be substituted for the Fig. el form.

F (i is central. vertical section of the complete drain-valve of whichFig. 5 forms the seat and mounting member.

ln detail, the construction shown in said drawings is substantially asfollows:

in superficial form. outline and construction my improved basket may beof the usual type having' the splint. jacket 1, the inner liningl ofmetal 2 andthe intermediate insulation 3. A suitably constructed cover 4is also provided; handles 5 are indicated in Fig. l. Two locator-rods 6.6 are provided which extend across the interior of the basket, inproximity to the top thereof, and preferably positioned equi-distantfrom the ends of the basket. Said locator-rods are for the purpose ofpositioning and retainingr the removable food container compartment .7centrally-or preferably so-within the basket. Said food compartment isprovided with a suitably constructed lid or cover 8.Y y

Those'portions of the interior of the basket adiacent each end thereofand indicated by the reference ordinal 9 are for the reception of icefor refrigeration purposes.

The bottom metal liningr 2 of the basket is provided withupwardly-extending' ribs 10 or bosses ll, upon which the bottom of thefood container rests: these features l0 and 11 serve as spacing meanswhereby the adjacent faces of said metal liningr 2 and thev bot-tom faceof the food container are spaced apart, as indicated by the'refereneeordinal l2, in Figs. stand 6. thus forming' a free passage for waterunderneath said food container for a purpose presently to be set forth.

Located `centrally of the bottom of the basketor preferably at thatposition ,-and extending therethrough is a drain port 18. which isadapted to be normally closed by any suitable device, such as aremovable screwthreaded cap 14 as shown especially at Fig. el, or bymeans of a valve 15 shown in 5 and G.

he closure device for said 'drain-port 13 shown in Fig. 4l comprises thewell-known' form of cooperating screw-f.1 at 4d nozzle f. cap le; whs-rthe water is to be drained from the interior of the basket said cap 1/1is removed, thus permitting the outiow of water th rough the drain port.

rille construction and operation of the drain device shown in 6 is asfollows: Into the bottom of the interior lining EZ of the basket isinserted and firmly secured the disk-like seat and carrying member 16 ofthis device. Said member lo has Aon its upper face tile seat portion 1'?for the seating 'thereon of the knife-edge peripheral portion of Athevalve 15 within said seat portion o f said disk, A plurality of outletports 18 are provided for ,the outflow of water from the ice chamber ofthe basket; the center of said seatdisk is provided with a hole 19 forthe pas? Sage and longitudinal movement of the valve stein 19, The underside of said seat ,member is provided with a centrally positioned,tubular portion 2 0, into which said stem 19 projects. The lower end ofsaid valvestem is threaded for the reception of a spring-compressing nut21. Between said nut and the 'adjacent face of said seat member is intenposed a compression spring 22 the reactive force of which may be soregulated by said nut as to hold the knife edge portion of the valve 15into firm contact with its seat so as to form a leak-'tight jointthereat. lVhen water is to be drained from the icc chamber thisdrainsvalve is opened by an upward pressure ofthe linger on the nut 21,so as to unseat the valve and permit water to flow therethrough. Thefunction of the tubular portion 2010i said valve organization is, ytoform guard for the stem 19, and its cooperating 'nut 21 wherebyaccidental ,opening of the valve is provided against. The knifebladeseating edge of this valve is provided so that'it may be cheaply,quickly and eas' ily ground to a perfect seat and for the furtherpnrpose of providing a narrow seat that v is not likely'tobe prevented,by sediment and the like, from making a perfect seat upon and joint withits co-.operating seat 1.6.

Another object of providing spacing features 1l, ofthe elongated shapeshown in Fig. 2 is to guide the water to the drain hole 13, when thebasket is rocked or tilted, for .the purpose of more eifectually causingthe drainage of water from the basket.

Reverting to the Fig, 4 form of this drain port, it will bc noted thatthe lower face of he cap 14 when in its closed position is above thelower face of the oor-tlmt is., .the bot'- tGra-ot the basket; theobject Ot this Gonstruction is t-wofolchnamely to provide an even facelfor the bottom of the basket so that it will set firmly upon a licor.,table or the like; also to form a Iguard for' said cap to preventaccidental displacement 0f 0r derrithereto, Y Heretofore, refrigeratorbaskets have been Constructed With a permanent food chainbcl1 and aremovable ice chamber, and with such a construction it is necessary toremove the ice chamber in order to empty the water therefrom, so as toprevent an excess of humidity of the air within the basket; suchrrinoial very lmaterially lowers the refrigerating efficiency of thebasket, increases the ice consumption and often necessitates the troubleand ,annoyance of removing a portion of the contents of the foodchamber.

l claim the following:

1. A refrigerator basket, a portion of the inte-rior chamber of which isadapted for the rece tion of ice, a drain-port leading through theVottom of said basket, ribs formed in the door of said basket andradially disposed relative to said port so as to direct the flow of4water thereto, and a food compartment removably positioned within saidchamber having its lower face spaced from the bottom of said chamber bvsaid ribs for the passage of ported upon said ribs, and a closure memberfor said port actuable to its open position for the drainage of waterfrom said port,

3. In a refrigerator basket provided with a closely fitting cover; thecombination therewith of a food container vwithin and positioned`centrally of said basket so as to form a plurality of ice chambers aboutsaid container also an Vintervening water s ace between the juxtaposedfaces of t e floor of said container and said basket, a normallycloseddrain device extending andY projectingr through the floor of said basketwhereby water may be drained at will from said space, there being a.countersunk housing in the floor wall of said basket surrounding theprojecting portion of said drain device for the purpose set forth.

' 4. In a refrigerator basket, the combination of a removable foodcompartment positioned within the basket so as to form an ice chamberupon two ,opposite sides of said compartment also an interveningdrainage space between the juxtaposed faces of the bottomoi said foodcompartment and the floor of the basket chamber, adrain port in thefloor of' said basket in communication with said space, a drain devicein said portv rojecting `exteriorly' of the basket, and a liousingformed about the projecting portion of said device for the purposesspecified.

5, In Va refrigerator basket, the combina tion of a removable foodcompartment posi toned within the basket so as to form a cham space, adrain-Valve organization n said port ber for ice upon two Sides of saidfood comprojectng through the Hoor, and a housing partment also anintervening space between formed by said floor about the projecting por-10 the adjacent 'faces ot' the bottom of said food tion of Saidorganization, for the purposes 5 compartment and the floor of thebasket, specified.

there being a drain port through the floor In testimony whereof I aix mysignature. of the basket in Communication wthsa-d SABEL AMEGEATH.

